


Before The Storm // D.M.

by multi_hp_fandom



Series: Storms [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:33:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29368557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multi_hp_fandom/pseuds/multi_hp_fandom
Summary: One simple event changed my whole plan. It wasn't meant to go like this. Now I'm separated from them and vulnerable to every danger.But not everything was as difficult as it seemed ... wasn't it?(+16)(A.U.)All credits go to J.K. Rowling.Cassandra Rose, Victoria Patterson, and Thomas Malcalester are creations of mine.
Series: Storms [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2157315





	1. 0

_The roar of the voices around me was still not enough to drown out my nervous thoughts. I couldn't even distinguish one from another. I simply stood frozen in place and watched helplessly as the scene evolved around me. The excited chatter of the children, their parents trying to keep up with them as they rushed to greet their friends, the smell of worn out leather, the whirlwind of desperate and stressed people hurrying past me. At least they all had a purpose. But the only thing I had was that deep misery that I had been carrying with me for the past month. I felt alone. A lost soul in the midst of a busy, ever-changing world. But it just didn't feel right. To be standing there without him. To even try to enjoy it. We were supposed to do all of this together, yet the only thing beside me was my looming, tenebrous shadow. Guilt was engulfing every inch of my body and I just wanted to scream out. It wasn't fair. Why do the good go and the bad prevail? It all just happened so quickly; in the blink of an eye. I couldn't even begin to process the situation and now I'm back here. Where it all started. Tears welled up in my eyes, yet it wasn't sadness what I was feeling. It was more of a profound longing for something I couldn't grasp. Like a gaping void inside of me that yearned to be filled. I sincerely tried to think about all of the joyful memories, but my desperate tries were shut down by my menacing thoughts telling me that these failed attempts at struggling to find cheerfulness would never bring him back. And they were right. I urgently needed an escape. I know he wouldn't have wanted me to suffer like this. But these memories were now like an open wound: vulnerable to all of the dangers in the world. Every time something touches it the wound stings tremendously. The exact same sensation I come by when someone or something reminds me of him. With my thoughts still tormenting my helpless mind, I started to feel my surroundings shrinking, and my breathing became ragged and shallow. It was happening again. I never had panic attacks until that dark day, and now they're part of my everyday life. My knees buckled; I fell and landed with a tremendous thud. The brightness of the lights was causing me pain, so I closed my eyes. I saw a calm, starry night. Oh, how peaceful was it all. A gentle breeze was tickling my cheeks and crisp droplets of water were melting on my skin. How I wished I could've stayed in that moment forever. Of course, this beautiful scenery was abruptly interrupted when a wave of terrible nausea hit me and my eyes flew open. A familiar face was smiling down on me, yet it wasn't that warm smile that I had always known. It was restrained, but I knew she was making the effort for me. And probably for her, too. She offered me her hand and I gladly took it. She pulled me up and fiercely embraced me. Her familiar scent calmed my nerves momentarily. How would I have survived without her? I could never find the words to express my gratitude for everything she had done, even when I had the chance._

_I felt someone lovingly patting my back and another hand slowly massaging my shoulder. The people I have stuck with through all of this. Maybe they weren't all physically here, but I knew they were here by heart and soul. I was immensely thankful for them and I didn't know how to show it. So instead, I pulled away from the hug and smiled at the three of them. Tears welled up in my eyes and I managed to mutter out a choked up "thank you." I squeezed their hands and they warmly smiled in return. But nothing felt right, and I think we all knew that. Everything did change that day, after all._


	2. 1

_Present day_

She was going to be so furious. Yeah, definitely. I just knew it from the moment I woke up and saw my sister's bed neatly made and the clock striking 10 o'clock in the morning. Every time I caught sight of this I knew I was in deep trouble. That always meant I was late for something. You see, I'm definitely _not_ a morning person. Even if I did manage to somehow wake up on time, I could never bring myself to get out of bed. My sister would literally jump out of it and get ready for the day the moment she opened her eyes. I simply couldn't, no matter how hard I tried. And that exceedingly infuriated my dear mother. As if on cue, the door swung open and in followed a fuming woman and behind her stumbled a disheveled man. I had summoned a demon. What a familiar sight. "Cassandra Rose—" her screams echoed in the tiny room, but she was cut off by the calming words of her beloved husband. And I, of course, say that sarcastically. "Now now, let's not get worked up and—"

"Oh, _shut_ it! She does this every time!"

How ... uncommon. A deafening silence crept into the room. I just sat there quietly on the edge of my rusty, old bed, observing the scene. It was extremely hilarious and I was doing my absolute best to not burst out laughing. Even though this happened very often, I could and would never get used to it. Dad looked so embarrassed yet ... amused? The poor guy just wanted to help ... well it definitely didn't. He looked at me from behind Mom's shoulder and winked dramatically; and I, as always, started to laugh uncontrollably. I fell for it every single time. My father looked so pleased with what he had just achieved. 

"Young lady, how _dare_ you laugh upon this situation?!" shrieked Mom. Her face looked so comical; her shoulders were tensed up and she was standing as stiff as a board. At this point I had to put all of my energy and strength into preventing myself from passing out. The more I laughed, the dizzier I got.

"Oh, come on Mum! Don't be so naive!" I snorted breathlessly. "If you could only look at yourself through my eyes right now..."

Dad was doing his best to keep his composure too, but he failed and let out a low chuckle. He immediately covered up his mouth, but it was too late. Mom turned around so aggressively she almost tripped on her own feet. That did _not_ help the situation at all. I buried my face in my pillow to prevent myself from cackling like a psychopath and I listened in on the argument, which started to get more heated with every second that passed. "You are such a bad example for our children! Show them that respecting adults, especially their parents—"

She was cut off by a very familiar face poking his head into the room.

"Oi! What's with all the bickering?" he said amused. "And you didn't even care to invite me? I would have easily won that argument, Dad—"

It warmed my heart to see him. My hero.

Another familiar face poked his head into the room. 

"Hey! Stop chatting and come down for breakfast. Everyone's already waiting at the table."

Mom and Dad looked at each other like they always did, apologized for raising their voices, decided what my punishment would be (I could not bring my pet with me for the first week), gave each other a quick peck on the lips, and hugged the argument away. "Now, young lady, I trust you've learned your lesson?" I rolled my eyes and nodded. Don't get me wrong, I love Mom plenty, but I have always been closer with Dad. There's really no specific reason as to why, but I guess we don't clash that much; plus, he enjoys my dark humor quite a lot. 

I turned to stare at the two people who had interrupted my beautiful moment with my mother, and smiled to myself. They always knew how to ease up the tension in the room, no matter what the situation was. That's why I was closer to them than to the rest of my siblings. At least today.

One of the faces disappeared and our parents walked out of the room as if nothing happened. I was used to that kind of behavior. Very bipolar, the bunch. But somehow they fitted in well with one another.

"Are you coming down, Rosie?" smirked the remaining person in the room. I squirmed in disgust when I heard that name. "Oh please, god, don't call me that. I hate it!" and he knew it. He loved how annoyed I got. It was quite entertaining for him. "Exactly! That's the fun part!" he exclaimed happily. I threw a pillow at him but he easily caught it. Uh-oh. "Oh now, dear sister, you thought you were going to achieve something? Now you've just pissed me off!" He tried tickling me but my reflexes were quicker than him. I leapt out of the way and dodged his attack. Was that the best he got? "Nope, but you know I'm faster than you!" and I ran into the bathroom and locked myself in. I was panting heavily and giggling at the same time. I should have worked out during the summer. Now I kind of regret it. I could at least then put up a fight. "We're going to be late!" he shouted while pounding on the door. "We'll wait for you downstairs. Hurry up!" and I heard his laughter become quieter and his footsteps receding.

"Give me a break, Freddie!"


	3. 2

"You should talk to him," pleaded a familiar voice. I turned to look at him, and saw him trying to make a cute puppy face. I'm not going to lie; he looked adorable. But I couldn't let that affect me. I know he always wanted the best for me, but sometimes I had to figure out what that was by myself. George was the "fixer" in our family. Yes, he loved pranks as much as Freddie did, but he was more ... diplomatic; poised. You can guess who my favorite twin is. No hate towards George, though. I do love them both equally. I simply prefer to spend time with one than the other. That's all.

"No, now leave me alone," I puffed back. It was hard enough to walk this fast when we literally just finished breakfast a few minutes ago, let alone sustain a two-way conversation. "Also, could we please slow down?!" I raised my voice so the rest of our group could listen to what I just said. "I feel like I'm going to puke," I called out, seeing no positive outcome from the first statement. Oh, come on! I know my family isn't gullible, especially because I pulled these type of stunts all the time, but I _was_ feeling slightly unwell. I promise.

Ugh, fine. I guess he _is_ right.

"Hey dumb-ass! Wait up!" I yelled. I couldn't see him, but I felt George's satisfied smile. At the end of the day he was _almost_ always right. Almost. I now knew I had to apologize.

As I expected, he didn't slow down. In fact, he started walking faster. "I guess I'll have to run then," I thought to myself. The things I'd do for him. He should be grateful.

After somehow getting the energy to run (I mean, who does that?), I finally caught up to him. "Hey Ron, about last night—" he whipped his head to look at me while he continued to aggressively walk. He tended to be so dramatic sometimes. Seriously, I can't believe I'm related to him. "Bloody hell, Cass!" he interrupted me. He didn't look as angry as I thought he'd be, but he was slightly annoyed. "Look, I—" he cut me off again. "No, I'll apologize. I shouldn't have eaten your chocolate frog without permission," he stated emotionlessly, clearly amused. He smirked at me. It was obviously a sarcastic remark. I guess there was something similar between us. "You knew how bad I craved it! And even if you _did_ ask, I still wouldn't have given it to you!" I clamored. I was extremely enraged. I mean, imagine finally getting this one sweet that you were craving for a very long time, only to see it gone a few minutes after you hid it in your drawer. 

I guess this incident wasn't that horrible to justify pulling a _Petrificus Totalus_ on Ron, but I still feel like he deserved it. Turns out that reading during the summer does teach you many things, especially cool spells. I learned a few of them, just in case. I wanted to be able to defend myself. I detested feeling powerless. It makes you weak and vulnerable to the dangers of the world. No one would mess with me.

I , the master of manipulation, convinced my father to get me my wand a bit earlier to practice. He was doubtful because he worked at the Ministry and that could get him in trouble, but he did love sneaking around and taking risks every now and then. Plus, I think I was his favorite child. He loved all of us equally but him and I just had a different type of bond. He had a weak spot for me.

When a wand finally chose me after I destroyed many objects inside the store, I saw Mr. Ollivander's face light up. Don't get me wrong; the wand-choosing experience was magical, but I felt bad for causing so much chaos. "A powerful one, indeed," he muttered to himself. He paced around the room for a while until he stopped abruptly and turned to stare at me with newfound interest. "Rowan wood with a phoenix feather core, thirteen inches, and reasonably supple flexibility. You will definitely accomplish great things, young lady. But be extremely careful." He fiddled around with the wand before he finally handed it to me. And with that he disappeared into the darkness of the famous wand shop.

I remembered Molly's face when she saw Dad and I strut in, smiling from ear to ear. "Arthur, what have you been up too?" she implied. I couldn't contain my excitement and I pulled out my new wand from my oversized sweater. Her face immediately dropped when she looked at it. You could literally see the steam coming out of her ears. Mom's face turned all shades of red imaginable, and we could both sense she was trying her best to not _Avada Kedavra_ us at that moment. "Are you insane?!" she shrieked. She took many, _many_ deep breaths and crouched down to look at me sweetly. How suspicious. "Honey, I am _truly_ delighted to see that your father _bought_ a _new_ wand for you!" she accentuated the words "bought" and "new." I then realized that the problem wasn't the wand itself. It was about the money. We couldn't afford it and I was stupid enough to get caught up in the moment. I actually felt guilty. I wanted to break it. I honestly didn't deserve it. But I knew that snapping it in half would only make things worse because you couldn't return a wand. It wasn't possible. "Oh, Mom. I didn't realize! I'm so stupid. Please forgive—" she stopped me by placing her hand on my shoulder. "Cassie, sweetie, it's not your fault. Every child is tempted when getting a wand. They want one that chooses them. It's an unforgettable experience and we all want to show it off to impress our housemates. I completely understand. I will have to talk to your father though. Please take care of it, now that you have one." She hugged me briefly and then stood up to face Dad. I did not expect that reaction. Maybe she went through the same thing? Who knows. "Arthur, you know our current situation—" he interrupted her. "Molly, not in front of our children." The commotion had attracted my two twin brothers and sister. They were all standing in the corner of the room, quietly listening. Mom and Dad went outside to talk, and I was left to deal with my jealous siblings.

Of course, Dad made me promise to only practice rarely and inside the house. I swore to only learn harmless, simple spells. How did he fall for this? I learned _Lumos_ and _Nox_ in a matter of minutes, and I immediately got bored. What was I supposed to do? Sit around, creating light and then turning it off? Even though Mom homeschooled us, she didn't want me waving a wand at an early age, so instead we just did heavy non-magic reading. No, I decided to learn a few ... more useful spells. I didn't cast them anywhere (except on Ron last night), but I did learn the correct wand movements and incantations. One of them included the _Petrificus Totalus_ charm, which I apparently successfully casted. I was eager to show off my knowledge of _Expelliarmus_ , _Flipendo_ , and _Incendio._ The perfect time would come for this, I was sure.

I still don't know how I managed to evade getting caught by the Ministry of Magic. Maybe it's because Ron stayed home all the time? No one saw him petrified. I mean, we didn't have any visitors and our owl wasn't needed, so we left him to rest in his cage. I think Dad had something to do with it. Again, who knows?

"Anyways, you're very lucky that Mom happened to have Mandrakes ready at home," Ron interrupted my reminiscing. "If not, I would have missed my first day of school," he continued. After a few seconds of quietly walking side by side, he spoke up again. "You do know how ridiculous our argument sounded?" he said. I turned to look at him confused. He did eat my dessert but it was stupid to continue being mad because of this. In a matter of seconds, we both burst out laughing. "Come here, you brat." We stopped walking and he pulled me into a tight hug. I'm not going to lie, out of everyone in my family Ron gave the best hugs. They made you feel safe and loved. I didn't want to pull away. "I _am_ very sorry though. I shouldn't have petrified you," I said into his chest. "It's okay, I could never stay mad at you anyways. You're my twin, after all," he said. He could be cute when he wanted to be. "Damn right I am," I stated proudly. Satisfied that I was on good terms with everyone, I excitedly walked into the wall situated between Platform Nine and Ten. I couldn't wait to see what my first year at Hogwarts would be like.


	4. 3

"I'm scared." 

That was all I managed to mutter out as I shakily pushed my way through the crowd towards the emptiest train car I could find. I was having a hard time focusing on my surroundings. This always happened when I was nervous and on edge. All of this was completely new to me, as I never came here with any of my brothers on their first day of school to wave them goodbye. I (sadly) could never manage to wake up on time and Mom didn't even bother trying to do so.

As nervous as I was, I couldn't lie and say that what I was seeing and experiencing was completely unbearable. All of the first-years around me were chatting excitedly, some of them were crying, and others were eagerly boarding the train. I was silently walking beside my family, staring at everything in awe. The train itself was beautiful; a mix of bright red and black colors with a striking "Hogwarts Express" embossing on the front. I couldn't wait to board it and embark on a new escapade.

"Why? There's nothing to be scared of," assured Freddie. He warmly smiled at me. "My first day was awesome! I'm sure yours will be too," he promised. "Don't forget about our plan! You'll surely be sorted into Gryffindor like the rest of us, we'll have your back all of the time, and we will have lots of fun," he paused for a second and leaned down to whisper into my ear. "I've heard our parties are **incredible** ... _but_ you're too young. Even I am too. There's a strict fifteen-and-over policy for some of them, but I've managed to sneak in once or twice. Do _not_ follow my example," he smirked. He obviously had gone to many parties, but he was right. I was only eleven years old and my main focus had to be schoolwork this year. "So there _are_ parties for under-fifteens?" I inquired curiously. Well, that's about it for focusing on schoolwork. "Yes Cassie, there are. I'm not going to lie to you, they're pretty boring. It's mostly just hanging out in the common room eating sweets. But they are a good place to meet people and make new friends," he answered. "Wonderful," I thought to myself. Maybe I'll find the perfect friend group.

"What are you guys chatting about?" Ginny caught up to us. I honestly didn't want to talk to her. She is the person I got along the worst with in the family. We had our moments, but they were brief and very rare. I didn't want to listen to her negative comments this morning. "I'm reassuring Cass that everything will be okay. She's a bit scared, but that's all right," responded Freddie. I felt so much love for him. "Scared now, are you?" chuckled Ginny. "I bet you won't last more than ten minutes in there without Fred and George protecting you. You seriously thought they'd be around all of the time? They have their own lives, too. Not everything is about you, Cassandra." she criticized. I never understood why she had it out for me so bad. When we were little we never fought, but one day, in the blink of an eye, she decided that it was her life's mission to make mine miserable. I tried to reason with her plenty of times but she'd just shut me down immediately. I always wished we were closer.

"Give her a break, Ginny," snapped Freddie. I loved how he always came to my rescue, but perhaps she was right. Fred, George, and (occasionally) Ron would defend me whenever they could or had the chance to. It was about time I learned to fend on my own. Maybe when I started learning those spells during the summer out of nowhere it was my subconscious telling me to prepare myself. I mean, I had never been a huge fan of books but I started vigorously reading one with no motivation whatsoever. In any case, I was glad Dad bought me a wand. At least I had learned around four basic defensive spells for unwanted encounters. Maybe, just maybe, I didn't need my brothers after all.

"Anyways, this is a good thing for me. I'll finally have our bedroom all for myself," spat Ginny. How typical of her. I actually was looking forward for a more polite goodbye, but this'll apparently do. She wasn't an awful person. She simply just hated me specifically for no reason. There probably was one, but I wasn't going to find out anytime soon. Maybe she'd finally communicate her feelings next year when she'd be joining the rest of us at Hogwarts.

I decided I was going to be the bigger person here. What was there to lose? "Well, I'm pleased that you'll finally be happy," I replied to her snarky remark. "I'll miss you, even though you won't," I continued. I gave her a genuine smile and I actually managed to shock her. Ginny's eyes were as big as plates and she suddenly stopped moving around. "I-uh-well ... good luck," she stuttered unconfidently. Now it was my turn to get shocked. Out of everything I expected could happen, this was definitely not one of those things. "You'll be late," she quickly continued as she wrapped Freddie in a big hug and did the same thing with George, who was standing a few feet away from us. When she turned back to look at me, she simply gave me a polite nod. This was a huge improvement. I was now more at ease and calm. At least we were being ... civil. "Hey, what about me?" implied Ron, who was discussing something with Mom. "I could never forget about you!" she squealed and wrapped him in an even bigger hug.

When they finally let go, Mom approached us, radiating positive energy. "Time passes too quickly! I remember the day both of you were born and—" Ron and I rolled our eyes, but we were smiling warmly at her. We wouldn't be seeing Molly for quite a while, the least we could do is be nice to her on this day. I got up late and I didn't want to give her another reason to be mad. "Mom, we know. We love you lots and we'll miss you dearly," interrupted Ron. "Oh, my loves," she engulfed us in a suffocating hug. "When I was pregnant with you both, I couldn't believe I'd be having another pair of twins, but—" she rambled on, clearly shaken up. "Mom." I said sternly, but with affection. It was a bit awkward to watch Mom break down in front of us. "Yes yes, I'm sorry," she quickly returned to her normal self. "Now, I do hope you have everything. Be safe and write to me frequently." She hugged each and everyone one of us, grabbed Ginny, and went to stand with her against the platform's walls, away from the bustling crowds. They were watching and waiting for us to board the train. 

"Hey Freddie," I called out shyly. He was walking with George towards another train car. "Yes Cassie?" he came back, worry on his face. I simply jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for everything."

"Of course, I'll always be here for you," he answered wholeheartedly. Do not think he was always nice to me. These past few days he was extra affectionate because I was starting to become more independent, and I wouldn't be his "little", defenseless sister anymore; plus, I was extremely jumpy all of the time. "Hey! What about me?" I chuckled lowly and pulled away to see George standing in front of us. He looked mad, but in a cute way. I jogged up to him and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I love you guys," I mumbled out. We exchanged smiles and I observed them as they slowly retreated into the swarming crowd.

"Come on now, we don't want to be late," Ron pulled me out of my thoughts. We pushed our way through the hectic crowd towards one of the train cars. We barely made it on time. I was to blame, since I did wake up at 10 o'clock, exactly one hour before the train leaves. We ate too quickly for my own taste, and I had to push everything into my trunk without folding my clothes. I simply just threw everything in.

Of course, my wand was with me at all times. It was my prized possession. I never let anyone even touch it. It was mine and mine only. I sound neurotic, but I just adore it too much to put it in harm's way.

As we made our way through the corridor, we noticed that all of the compartments were full. My patience was running out. How many kids could there possibly be? When we almost reached the end of that car, there was an almost-empty section with a couple of compartments that had between one to three kids in it. We decided to sit in one where a skinny, shy-looking boy with big, round glasses was resting quietly. 

"Hi! Is this seat taken?" I cautiously asked. He slowly looked up and gave us a timid smile. "No," he quietly answered. He didn't seem mean, just very reserved. Ron and I sat on the velvety cyan cushion in front of him. In every compartment there were two of them; each could comfortably accommodate three people. They were in front of one another, therefore you were always facing the person ahead of you. Unless you were looking out the window, of course.

"Hello, I'm Ron Weasley," he said cheerfully. He offered him a wide smile and his hand. The boy looked at it dubiously. After a few seconds, he shook it with newfound confidence. I guess he saw sincerity in him. I followed my twin's lead and presented myself. "I'm Cassandra Weasley, but you can just call me Cass," I said firmly. "My middle name is Rose but I don't like it much," I continued. I showed him my friendliest smile and I managed to get out of him a small grin. Ha! Take that Ron. He didn't achieve what I did.

"Is your family outside?" asked Ron as he pressed his face into the window, searching for Mom and Ginny. We followed his lead, except that we didn't squish our faces onto the cold glass. "Oh, look! There's Molly and Ginny," I exclaimed. They spotted us and happily waved. "So?" I turned to look at the boy, who was intensely staring at one specific point. He wordlessly pointed to a group of three people. "That's my mom, dad, and godfather," he finally whispered. "Oh, awesome!" I commented. We sat back down and Ron and I observed him. When he finally met our eyes, he looked defeated. I guess we broke him.

"Fine." He declared. After a long pause, he finally introduced himself. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter."


	5. 4

The train ride was tedious, but I did have lots of fun. The scenery was heavenly; I saw wild animals, lovely mountains, and mysterious, dark forests. The sky was an alluring, light shade of blue, and small clouds were scattered around it, like a striking painting. I was completely wonderstruck. Maybe the journey was a bit too long for my taste, but I ended up falling asleep on Ron's shoulder and it went by faster than I thought it would. 

A few minutes after the train started its journey a girl with bushy, messy, brown (orangish) curly hair, and big, curious dark brown eyes breathlessly stumbled into our compartment. Harry, the boy we befriended, and I were in the middle of a comical conversation. He was telling me about his mom, Lily, and how he didn't know how to comfort her when she was crying because he was leaving for school. We laughed it off; I was glad I made him genuinely smile. 

Harry was a first year, just like us. We immediately hit it off; I was delighted to have made a friend before actually reaching the academy itself. When the girl staggered into the compartment and flopped down next to Harry, I already knew she was going to be a sassy one. She gave off those bad girl vibes. "Finally! I could not find one single seat in the entire train! I had to walk all the way from the back up to here," she casually talked, like we had already known each other for years. I needed her confidence. We were all silently staring at her as she unpacked her bag, took out a book, and started reading as if nothing had happened. I think she noticed the tension because she looked up and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right! I'm Hermione Granger! It is very nice to meet you all. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do," and with that she returned to devouring her book. I cleared my throat. Was she not interested in knowing who we were? "Um, well ... I'm Cassandra Weasley and this is my twin, Ron. And that's Harry," I announced as I tilted my head towards him. She again looked up and closed her book. "All right, Cassandra—" I interrupted her. "Please, call me Cass." We both smiled widely at each other and I immediately knew we were going to become very close friends.

We all chatted for quite a while; we got to know each other better. I instantly knew Hermione was going to be sorted into Ravenclaw. She had a handful of books in her backpack, and she was always trying to show of her knowledge in any way she could. Harry was slowly opening up to us, and that made me very glad. I kept stealing glances at him; I'm not going to lie, he was kind of cute. He had squishy cheeks and an adorable smile. No, I didn't have a crush on him, if that's what you're thinking.

Ron was annoyed by Hermione, I could tell. His shoulders were tensed and he was pouting. She was talking about books all of the time and how she read a bunch of them during the summer in order to be prepared for class. I didn't like her showing off. It infuriated me. Who did she think she was? "Let's see how smart you are now," I thought to myself as a brilliant idea popped into my head. Me being a completely unproblematic child, I decided to challenge her into a show off. As I mentioned before, I _had_ read one book on charms. I guess it was finally time to see if I actually did learn anything. Petrifying her was not an option. I just hoped I wouldn't destroy anyone or anything during the process. And I knew she was going to accept; she loves bragging.

"Hey, Hermione! What are you reading?" I asked uninterestedly. This caught her attention instantly. "A book on charms. Actually, this is my second time—" Now was my time to act. "So you think you know everything, huh?" I smirked. Her face lit up straight away. She was suddenly fascinated with me. I knew it. "What, you're a book nerd too?" she smirked back. "No, but I know a thing or two," I simpered. This triggered her. She was now leaning forward towards me; one small push and she would fall of her seat. "Oh yeah? Prove it," commanded Hermione. "Alright, you asked for it."

We both pulled out our wands. Hermione's was beautiful, no doubt. I wasn't an expert on those so I had no idea what wood, core, and flexibility it had, but I did notice that hers was shorter than mine. I investigated about my wand and I found out that Rowan wood was prized; apparently it was the most common wand wood for evil witches and wizards. My father also told me that it had the ability to excel in duels and sometimes even outperform other wands in them. Allegedly, I can produce powerful, tough to break Defensive Charms with it. I couldn't wait to try it out.

Harry and Ron backed away as much as they could. They were pressed against the window while Hermione and I were staring each other down. I decided to start out easy and simple. I was kind of scared, since I realized she knew much more than me. But maybe she didn't focus on reading about the dangerous spells. I took a few deep breaths and casted both _Lumos_ and _Nox_. She did not look impressed. Hermione then casted _Colovaria_ and changed her bag's color from brown to blue. I was impressed. But I was not going to lose easily.

" _Wingardium Leviosa_!"

" _Flipendo_!"

" _Lumos maxima_!"

We continued for a short while. I casted _Incendio_ and almost burned down the cushions but Hermione was quick and she yelled " _Aguamenti_." We both laughed it off but both Ron and Harry received the splash of water and ended up being soaked from head to toe. It was honestly a funny sight. After some time our little "duel" ended in the best way possible:

" _Expelliarmus_!"

I had stolen her wand. She looked at me in disbelief, like she couldn't process what she had just witnessed. "Who...when..." I started laughing. It was a dangerous spell and something could've gone wrong, but I felt very sure of what I was doing. I had never casted it before and I was successful. "How did you learn that spell? Who taught it to you? How did—" I shushed her. Hermione's rambling was getting on my nerves. "My dad gave me a Charms book and I read it. I practiced the incantation and the wand movement separately ... This is actually my first time casting it." Silence filled the compartment. "First time?! Do you know how dangerous it is?! You could've hurt me!" she protested. And she had every right to. She looked ... disappointed. That hurt me a bit. I know; what I did was irresponsible and not well planned, but I can't deny that I had tons of fun. The adrenaline rush and power that I felt was addictive. I wanted to do it again.

"I'm sorry you felt that way," I said as I handed Hermione her wand back. Instead of having harmless fun I now felt guilty and ashamed. I guess I got caught up in the moment. "Don't worry about it. I guess I'll have a worthy opponent in Charms class. You'll give me a run for my money, that's for sure. May the best witch prevail."

And with that, each one of us got back to our own thing as the train slowly wandered through the beautiful scenery towards our final destination.


End file.
